Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/246

 Chftp. VII. OF -.r M A N C H E S T E R. 215 and the tribes of the neighbouring Britons muft therefore have" already adopted the Gallic inftrument of threfhing: and what* ever they had adopted in general the more northerly Britons ap- pear to have* faithfully copied from them* This inftrument however* was pretty certainly the flail ; and it was pretty cer- tainly introduced into Italy from Gaul. The Romans had con- fiderable connexions with Gaul in the matters of agriculture". Such an implement was the more likely to be invented in Gaul, as the Gallic farmers generally cropped only the ears of their corn, and as the tribulum or the cattle were found lefs effectual upon thefe than the flail ai. And when the flail was firft in- troduced' among the Romans, it was ufed only as the Gauls would have ufed it, only upon fuch corn as had been reaped, in tile Gallic manner a *. The Romans had formerly imported their whetftones at a confiderable expence from the. ifle of Crete, from Lacohia, and from other equally diftant places. And as thefe were of no efficacy withoutrthe 1 afliftance of oil, the Ita- lian haymaker was obliged to carry conftantly an horn of oil by his fide. But,, fome little time before the conqueft of Lanca- shire, Italy was found to produce very excellent whetftones, which were equal to a file for the purpofes of ftiarpening, and required only, the afliftance of water. Such however had been long ufed by the Gauls, and were denominated Paflernices amongthem * 5. And fuch muft have been equally ufed by both the ruder and the more civilized Britons, for the (harpening of their axes their daggers and their fwords, and for giving a finer edge to their razors * 6 . Thefe might the Mancunians have eafily procured in the vicinity of the town and in the vale of Sad- dleworth. And one of them was a&ually difcovered about fixty years ago- at Craven in Yorkfhire, as another was found about feventy years ago in a mofs within our own county. The lat- by an axe-head of polifhed marble and one or two inftruments of pointed bone ; and' both the one and the other were thereby evillced to be equ ally Britifh with all. TheBritifh hone which was - found in our own county was a ftone of a very uncommon fpe- eies*.
 * ter was accompanied by an axe-head of coppery and the former